In the last years, sustainable horticulture has been increasing; however, to be successful this practice needs an efficient soil fertility management to maintain a high productivity and fruit quality standards. For this purpose composted organic materials from agri-food industry and municipal solid waste has been used as a source to replace chemical fertilizers and increase soil organic matter. To better understand the influence of compost application on soil fertility and plant growth, we carried out a study comparing organic and mineral nitrogen (N) fertilization in micro propagated plants, potted trees and commercial peach orchard with these aims: 1. evaluation of tree development, CO2 fixation and carbon partition to the different organs of two-years-old potted peach trees. 2. Determination of soil N concentration and nitrate-N effect on plant growth and root oxidative stress of micro propagated plant after increasing rates of N applications. 3. Assessment of soil chemical and biological fertility, tree growth and yield and fruit quality in a commercial orchard. The addition of compost at high rate was effective in increasing CO2 fixation, promoting root growth, shoot and fruit biomass. Furthermore, organic fertilizers influenced C partitioning, favoring C accumulation in roots, wood and fruits. The higher CO2 fixation was the result of a larger tree leaf area, rather than an increase in leaf photosynthetic efficiency, showing a stimulation of plant growth by application of compost. High concentrations of compost increased total soil N concentration, but were not effective in increasing nitrate-N soil concentration; in contrast mineral-N applications increased linearly soil nitrate-N, even at the lowest rate tested. Soil nitrate-N concentration influenced positively plant growth at low rate (60- 80 mg kg-1), whereas at high concentrations showed negative effects. In this trial, the decrease of root growth, as a response to excessive nitrate-N soil concentration, was not anticipated by root oxidative stress. Continuous annual applications of compost for 10 years enhanced soil organic matter content and total soil N concentration. Additionally, high rate of compost application (10 t ha-1 year-1) enhanced microbial biomass. On the other hand, different fertilizers management did not modify tree yield, but influenced fruit size and precocity index. The present data support the idea that organic fertilizers can be used successfully as a substitute of mineral fertilizers in fruit tree nutrient management, since they promote an increase of soil chemical and biological fertility, prevent excessive nitrate-N soil concentration, promote plant growth and potentially C sequestration into the soil.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa) is the causal agent of bacterial canker disease of kiwifruit plants worldwide. The steps of the PhD project followed a logical approach, starting the study of the effect of the interactions first in pure cultures of Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae at different densities, then in more complex systems in which Psa was made interact with synthetic molecules, microbial biocoenosis and the host. Intraspecific communication systems in many bacteria rely on signals synthesis and perception as function of cell density and it is often referred to as “quorum-sensing” (QS). Psa displays three QS-signal receptors, but not the signal synthase gene of N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs). Gene expression by qPCR was analysed at different culture densities in order to evaluate potential effects of the intraspecific communication on pathogenicity. It was established that Psa exploited swarming, swimming and twitching motilities and that the addition of AHLs influenced motility but not the biofilm formation nor virulence in vivo. Analysis of gene expression by qPCR supported in vitro results and revealed that very little resulted density-dependent. It was also evaluated the effect of the bacterial cross-talk considering several microbial species. Those bacteria that share with Psa the same environment on kiwifruit plants primed the gene regulation and the phenotypes such as biofilm production and motility, thus indicating that interspecific signalling may occur and play a crucial role during host colonization. Moreover, Psa phenotypic bioassays and relative gene expression quantitation were characterized in Actinidia spp. plant extracts and xylem saps. In the tested conditions, plant material stimulated biofilm formation, motility and virulence, leading also to high levels of gene expression and disease when inocula grown in plant material was used for infections. Four mutants (psaR1-, psaR3-, algD-, Tr-) were also used to investigate the processes occurring during intraspecific, interspecific and interkingdom communications. /

It has been estimated that one third of edible food destined for human consumption is lost or wasted along the food supply chain globally. Much of the waste comes from Global North, where consumers are considered as the bigger contributors. Different studies tried to analyze and estimate the Household Food Waste (HFW), especially in UK and Northern Europe. The result is that accurate studies at national level exist only in UK, Finland and Norway while no such studies are available in Italy, except for survey- based researches. Though, there is a widespread awareness that such methods might be not able to estimate Food Waste. Results emerging from literature clearly suggest that survey estimate inferior amounts of Food Waste as a result, if compared to waste sorting and weighting analysis or to diary studies. The hypothesis that household food waste is under-estimated when gathered through questionnaires has been enquired into. First, a literature review of behavioral economics and heuristics has been proposed; then, a literature review of the sector listing the existing methodologies to gather national data on Household Food Waste has been illustrated. Finally, a pilot experiment to test a mixed methodology is proposed. While literature suggests that four specific cognitive biases might be able to affect the reliability of answers in questionnaires, results of the present experiment clearly indicate that there is a relevant difference between how much the individual thinks to waste and he/she actually does. The result is a mixed methodology based on questionnaire, diary and waste sorting, able to overcome the cons of each single method.

Il presente studio rientra nell'ambito di una più ampia ricerca volta all'individuazione di criteri progettuali per il miglioramento delle prestazioni energetiche delle cantine di aziende vitivinicole di media-piccola dimensione produttiva. Nello specifico il lavoro di ricerca si pone l'obiettivo di definire dei criteri per valutare l'incidenza di diverse variabili progettuali sul comportamento termico di edifici destinati alla vinificazione e allo stoccaggio del vino, in assenza di impianti di climatizzazione. La valutazione è stata svolta su un caso-studio rappresentativo del settore vitivinicolo in ambito nazionale. Le variabili progettuali riguardano l'involucro dell'edificio, prendendo in esame le diverse possibilità in termini di isolamento termico, opacità e trasparenza, oltre a quelle relative all'orientamento dell'edificio e alla presenza o assenza di schermature verdi. La simulazione energetica in regime dinamico del caso-studio e dei diversi scenari è stata condotta con il software Energy Plus, seguendo una procedura di simulazione calibrata e validata. La valutazione si basa su degli indicatori di "benessere termico" del vino che, prendendo a riferimento le temperature interne dei locali, consentono di confrontare tra loro i diversi scenari. I risultati dimostrano e quantificano il miglioramento termico generato dall'applicazione combinata di più soluzioni progettuali. Il metodo definito nella presente ricerca costituisce uno strumento di valutazione, a supporto di operatori e progettisti, per l'identificazione delle migliori soluzioni progettuali tali da ottimizzare le performance termiche, minimizzando e, laddove possibile, annullando i fabbisogni energetici per la climatizzazione. / The aim of this research is to define a set of design criteria for the improvement of the energy performances of wineries in medium-small wine growing and producing farms. Specifically, the goal of the research consists in pointing out design-supporting criteria, suitable to assess the effect of different design strategies on the thermal behaviour of buildings for winemaking and for wine storage, in unconditioned rooms. The assessment method is applied on a case-study farm winery, selected as a representative example within the national framework. The design solutions are related to the building envelope and take into consideration different possibilities in terms of thermal insulation, opacity and transparency, in addition to the aspects related to the orientation of the building and to the presence or absence of green shadings. The energy simulation of the different scenarios applied to the case-study was conducted in dynamic conditions with the software Energy Plus, according to a calibrated and validated procedure. The evaluation is made by means of indicators based on the concept of “thermal comfort” for the wine, which allows to compare different scenarios, taking as a reference the internal temperatures of the rooms. The results underline and quantify the improvement of thermal behaviour in unconditioned rooms generated by the application of various combinations of solutions and identify the most effective and efficient ones. The method defined in this research represent an useful assessment tool that allows to support operators and designers to identify the best design solutions – in new constructions or retrofit projects – in order to optimize the thermal performance, to minimize and eliminate, if possible, the energy needs for air conditioning.

The research work leading to the drafting of this PhD thesis approaches the analysis of supply chains of products of animal origin from various productive species by using network analytic methods. In the studied analysis six supply chains are embedded in a single model which highlights all the interconnections that have little evidence in traditional models. This new model that we called Eva.CAN (Evaluation of Complex Agri-food Network Model) is a new concept model, the first complex network model for the agri-food production, the first to allow the application of Network Theory analysis methods. The initial hypothesis is that the various supply chains of products of animal origin have to be interpreted and analyzed as a whole, as a single complex system. The complex network is studied analyzing the adjacency matrix that constitutes the network with algorithms and methods extensively tested and validated. This analytical approach has already been applied with positive results in many research areas such as social networks, transport networks, the stylistic of writers and musicians, proteomics, pharmacology, medicine, biology, and many others. We apply this methodology to supply chains of products of animal origin and show a series of preliminary results. This method of study of food supply chains could be useful for an observatory, bringing to light slightly evident relations and becoming a strong support for policy-makers. It can also provide useful advices to individual actors on how to optimize their own supply chains. Finally, through an effective enumeration and evaluation of the relationships, a network model could be helpful in design of tracking and traceability systems.

The objective of this study is to test a methodology for the classification of areas according to the provision of ecosystem services (ES) and for the evaluation of the effects of different agricultural policy scenarios on such classification. The framework was applied to the classification of the 26 municipalities of the province of Ferrara, Italy. The case study area can be considered a traditional cultural landscape, characterised by historical-cultural sites, agricultural areas and protected areas of natural importance. The evaluation focuses on the different categories of ES and applies a set of indicators available from secondary data sources assessing different aspects of ES. From the policy perspective, the context was represented by the pre-2014 CAP and represented the Baseline scenario. In the next stage, the model simulated a New CAP scenario, based on the measures of the RDP 2014-2020 that are addressed on restoring and enhancing ecosystems. The classification approach in each of the two scenarios was implemented under two weighting solutions. As a general remark, it is observed that the provision of ES varies greatly from one municipality to the next. All the municipalities offer a significant number of provisioning and cultural services, mainly connected to recreational opportunities. From the experience carried out in this study, we can conclude that the application of the PROMETHEE, in particular with the integration of the weights for the ES indicators, has shown the potential to support the characterisation of agricultural land in terms of the provision of multiple ES. The study presents MCDA as a suitable tool to illustrate the differences in the provision of ES in different case study areas. To some extent, in spite of the limitations of this work, this also applies to analyzing the consequences of different agricultural policy scenarios in the provision of these services.

Aedes albopictus is considered one of the most invasive mosquito species in the world. It has proved capacity for local transmission of Chikungunya and Dengue within Europe. This research evaluated public costs related to the implementation of the plan for Ae. albopictus control and Chikungunya and Dengue prevention set up in Emilia-Romagna region (Northern Italy), where a Chikungunya epidemic outbreak occurred in 2007, with 217 confirmed cases. The management plan started in 2008 by involving more than 280 municipalities and 4.3 million inhabitants within the region, and its activities mainly target the ecological conditions for the multiplication of infestation hotspots in urban areas, to reduce the probability of rapid and uncontrolled disease spreading in case of outbreaks. The study accessed to data on the expenditures supported by all the public institutions involved in the implementation of the management plan. During the 8 year’s life of the management plan, the public authorities of the region spent at least € 37.7 million for the Ae. albopictus control, although the yearly expenditure declined since the € 7.6 million of 2008 to the € 3.1 million of 2015. The assessment of this expenditure revealed a high level of variability of its costs in the various municipalities included in the plan, not easily explainable only by the territorial and environmental differences among the urban areas. The cost for the treatment of a single road drain varied in a range from ≈ € 0.04 to ≈ € 6.1 among the municipalities in the years of existence of the plan. The research also attempted a first evaluation of the expenditures incurred by households to protect themselves from mosquito bites. During the pilot phase of a dedicated project, 57 interviews were realized to a random sample, and the mean expenditure € 18.25 per household.

One among many other preconditions in the field of agriculture for Serbia’s accession to the EU is establishment of the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) system. It can improve both on-farm and agricultural policy decision making processes by providing valuable information on physical, structural, economic and financial data. Republic of Serbia does not have farm accounting legal base and therefore the agricultural hold-ers are not obliged to keep records in order to have accurate income calculations. In line with this, Serbian FADN system has been established. As a consequence to aforementioned, this deliverable is an earliest attempt to examine the use-fulness and suitableness of the FADN system implementation in the Republic of Serbia. The applied EU FADN methodology is described, clarifying the basic definitions (universe of agri-cultural holdings, field of observation, sample selection, standard output, etc.). Harmonization and application of this methodology in the Republic of Serbia is described as well. In this research it was observed Serbian FADN life cycle from 2012 to 2015, with the main focus on 2013. Comparative research method was used in a particular areas of this study, which aimed to make comparisons across different FADN organizational infrastructures of certain EU Member States and Republic of Serbia, as well as to make comparisons of the first Serbian FADN results with the same results of a few selected EU Member States. In the pre-conclusion section the emphases is given on SWOT analyses, which gives an assessment of the FADN system implementation in the EU and in the Republic of Serbia. In addition to this, recommendations are given in order to achieve better FADN system implementation in the Repub-lic of Serbia. Research findings indicated that the Serbian FADN system is still under development, faces many challenges, and needs to be further improved and strengthened.

Informe de Seminario para optar al grado de Licenciado en Historia / El informe que presentamos se propuso entender la sobrevivencia de la agricultura campesina en el contexto de proceso de modernizaci?n del agro y luego de las reformas estructurales de 1974, considerando tres factores: la articulaci?n con el mercado, el impacto de las pol?ticas estatales, y los intercambios socioculturales a nivel local. Para cumplir con estos objetivos fue necesario comparar y caracterizar el proceso de diferenciaci?n campesina en San Clemente antes y despu?s de las reformas estructurales de 1974, para luego determinar la relaci?n de la agricultura campesina con el sector agr?cola a nivel comunal en los ?ltimos 30 a?os. Volviendo la mirada hacia el papel del Estado, se indag? la relaci?n entre las pol?ticas agrarias y el desarrollo de la econom?a campesina en la comuna desde 1974 hasta la fecha. Finalmente, centr?ndose en los protagonistas de este proceso hist?rico, los pobladores rurales agrupados bajo la agricultura campesina, se determin? la relaci?n del intercambio sociocultural entre las unidades productivas campesinas al interior de la localidad y los centros urbanos cercanos, como factor explicativo de la sobrevivencia de las primeras. Para el estudio de caso se eligi? la comuna de San Clemente, adem?s de lo indicado anteriormente, porque, gracias a su heterogeneidad, cuenta con pobladores rurales con distintos grados de inserci?n en los mercados, y con diferentes grados de (des)campesinizaci?n. Para capturar proceso de diferenciaci?n campesina y determinar la relaci?n de la agricultura campesina con el sector agr?cola a nivel comunal se recurri? al levantamiento y procesamiento de informaci?n cuantitativa en base a Censos de poblaci?n y Producci?n agropecuaria. Para determinar la relaci?n entre las pol?ticas agrarias y el desarrollo de la econom?a campesina en la comuna desde 1974 hasta la fecha, se trabaj? en base a informaci?n cuantitativa de bases de datos e informaci?n cualitativa de memorias de INDAP, entrevistas a informantes clave y pobladores de la comuna. Para determinar la relaci?n del intercambio sociocultural entre las unidades productivas campesinas al interior de la localidad y los centros urbanos cercanos, se recurri? a informaci?n de los censos de poblaci?n de 1970, 1982, 1992 y 2002, sobre el nivel de instrucci?n de la poblaci?n, y se realizaron entrevistas semi-estructuradas y en profundidad a 7 pobladores rurales de distintas localidades de la comuna, analizando su discurso, y cualitativamente, estableciendo un perfil de la valoraci?n que ?stos hacen del proceso de modernizaci?n, y de la relaci?n de ?sta con sus decisiones productivas. Tambi?n se utilizaron estad?sticas e informaci?n cualitativa del Centro de Informaci?n de Recursos Naturales (CIREN), y la Oficina de Estudios y Pol?ticas Agrarias (ODEPA). Con toda esta informaci?n fue posible caracterizar la estructura del sistema de tenencia, los cambios en uso de suelo, en el empleo agr?cola, y la producci?n agr?cola desde 1970 hasta la actualidad.

Italy has a preeminent rank in kiwifruit industry, being the first exporter and the second largest producer after China. However, in the last years kiwifruit yields and the total cultivated area considerably decreased, due to the pandemic spread of the bacterial canker caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa). Several climatic conditions and cultural practices affect the development of the bacterial canker. This research work focused on the impact of agricultural practices and microclimate conditions on the incidence and epidemiology of Psa in the orchard. Therefore, the effect of fertilization, irrigation, use of bio-regulators, rootstock, training system and pruning were examined. The effect of different tunnel systems was analyzed as well, to study the plant-pathogen interaction. Considering the importance of insects as vectors in other pathosystems, the role of Metcalfa pruinosa in the spread of the bacterial canker was investigated in controlled conditions. In addition, quality and storage properties of fruits from infected plants were assessed. The study of all these aspects of the agronomic practices is useful to define a strategy to limit the bacterial diffusion in the orchard. Overall, excess nitrogen fertilization, water stress, stagnant water supplies, pruning before summer and the high number of Metcalfa pruinosa increased the Psa incidence. In contrast, tunnel covers may be useful for the control of the disease, with special attention to the kind of material.